Kevin Owens worked a WWE dark match ahead of the Main Event tapings on Tuesday. He defeated WWE veteran R Truth and pulled out some of his trademark spots for the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania crowd. The reaction was said to be mild. There were some "Fight Owens Fight" chants, but they died out very quickly. The finish came when Owens hit his cannonball corner spot, followed by the pop up powerbomb for the win. The featuring of Owens in this context is yet another sign that his appearances on the main roster are set to be permanent. In the short term, he should be able to continue to work NXT dates in addition to his Raw commitments. But in the long run, a full exit from NXT would be expected. As a regular on Raw, he'd be important to the house show circuit and storylines. WWE are clearly high on him, as you could tell by the way the most recent episode of Raw was booked. John Cena tried really hard to get "Fight Owens Fight" chants over. Later, backstage, Stephanie McMahon remarked how impressed she was with him. What will be important now is how WWE books Owens in his match with John Cena at Elimination Chamber. While a win isn't necessarily vital, Owens at least needs to be made to look like the star that he can be.
